Russian skiers have swept the podium in the women’s visually impaired 5-km freestyle cross-country race on the final day of the Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi, where Russia triumphed with a total of 80 medals, including 30 gold.

Elena Remizova, 27, came first in the cross-country race with a
result of 13:23.8, winning Russia’s 30th gold medal on Sunday.
Mikhalina Lysova, who took silver, was only 3.9 seconds behind,
while Yulia Budaleyeva won bronze with 13:45.1.

“It feels great to win the last race at the Sochi
Paralympics. But I was expecting a gold medal and fought till the
end,” Remizova told R-Sport news agency. She added that she
was also very happy about her overall result in the Games: three
gold medals and one silver.

Meanwhile, Russian male athletes showed impressive results Sunday
in the 10 km standing skiing race where they also swept the
podium. Aleksandr Pronkov, just 16 years old, was first with
23:59.9, followed by Vladimir Kononov with 24:00.7 and Vladislav
Lekomtsev.

The final Sochi Paralympic gold went to Germany’s Anna
Schaffelhuber, the winner in the women’s sitting giant slalom
event. It was the fifth gold medal for the 21-year-old Alpine
skier in Sochi.

“I knew that I could win gold in every discipline, but I have
never believed that I would do that,” she said.

The sporting events are now officially over and the sad moment
has almost come for athletes and fans to say goodbye for another
four years. On Sunday evening, national teams and sports fans
will meet again at Sochi’s Fisht Stadium for the Paralympics
Closing Ceremony.

Mikhalina Lysova was picked to be Russia’s flag-bearer at the
event: she won a total of six medals at Sochi, including three
gold medals and three silver.

“Traditionally, at the opening ceremony the national flag is
carried by a person who has big achievements in the Paralympics
movements, while at the closing ceremony – the flag-bearer is an
athlete with the best results, a leader of the team,”
Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told Itar-Tass, adding that
it is logical that Lysova was chosen for that role.

Russian skier and biathlete Roman Petushkov – who showed
unbelievable results scoring six gold medals in the Games – was
also given an honorable role at the ceremony, Mutko said. The
36-year-old athlete will be watching the show sitting next to
Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the
International Paralympic Committee.